On the first day of sign ups for Affordable Health Care, Bryant Ragler, of Peoria, Ill., navigates the online insurance marketplace during sessions at the Peoria Public Library.

Thank you to Mimi and David Jose for their Oct. 9 letter clearing up misconceptions regarding Obamacare. I would just like to add that no matter how rocky of a start it may have, it is a step up from where we were in that it will allow insurance for millions who until now had no option at all. About 50 million people have no health insurance because they either can't afford it or have a pre-existing condition that meant insurance companies would not sell to them at any price. The new laws will ensure them that getting sick does not mean you will go broke.

The individual mandate that will impose penalties starting at $95 a year for those who do not sign up applies only to the uninsured, many of whom have been getting a free ride at the emergency rooms when they get sick, driving up health costs for everyone else. The Republicans are all about "personal responsibility," so I do not see why they would have a problem with this mandate. Working in a hospital, I know how many people without insurance use our emergency rooms for their health care. This is a dysfunctional system for health-care delivery.

So doing nothing is not an option. Opponents to Obamacare who want to repeal and replace and hold our country hostage and bring us to another financial crisis have yet to offer a credible replacement or solution.

The proper response by both parties should be to work together to fix any flaws. But improvement is nowhere in the Republican agenda. They have done everything they can to make it fail. But in reality I think they are afraid once it is up and running and people actually are going to get the healt hcare they deserve and like it, it is a win for Obama and the Democrats. This they cannot have. They would rather do nothing to help this country and the economy than see Obama have a success with this plan. That's a shame because the price is paid in human lives.

Angela Gioe

Mooresville

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Obamacare will help millions who need health care

Thank you to Mimi and David Jose for their Oct. 9 letter clearing up misconceptions regarding Obamacare.